Rug stretcher



' March 28, 1 944. c. A. BousHELLE RUG STRETCHER Filed Aug. 7, 1942 lfl@ 2 sheets-sheet 2 Patented Mar. 28, 1944 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICERUG STRETCHER Charles A. Boushelle, Chicago, Ill.

Application August 7, 1942, Serial No. 453,939

(ci. 45-24) e,

Y able rug attaching members may be made of Claims.

My invention relates to rug stretchers. Its principal object is toprovide a new and improved means for stretching a rug. In general therugs are washed and dried before being stretched. They are thenstretched to get them to the right size, and while so stretched thesizing glue is applied, whereupon the stretched rug and the stretcherframe which carries it are placed in an oven to be dried. My inventionis particularly directed to improving the stretcher to facilitate thehandling of rugs in this fashion.

It is also a purpose of the invention to provide a device of thischaracter which will accommodate rugs of a multitude of sizes with aminimum amount of adjustment. For example, the device as illustrated inthe drawings will accommodate rugs of sizes from a 9 x12' to smallscatter rugs, and will accommodate a plurality of small rugs at onetime.

I have incorporated in the rug stretcher certain novel features wherebyit is possible to support a rug on the stretcher and draw it graduallyback to its original size or as nearly to its original size as thedictates of judgment as to its ability to withstand stretching indicateto be safe. The rug in this stretched condition is carried by the rugstretcher during the time that the rug is sized and placed in a dryingoven and dried, after which the rug may be released and a new rugapplied. 'I'his makes it possible, because of the compact, smooth natureof the device, to maintain a drying oven in continuous operation with asmall number of frames, the frames being lled in succession so thatwhile the rug on one frame is drying, other rugs are being applied tothe other frames and by the time the oven is filled the iirst rug placedtherein will have partially or completely dried. It can readily be seenthat once the oven and the stretchers are in operation continuousoperation of the oven and continuous replacement ofvdried rugs with rugsto be dried can be made with little or no difficulty.

In the manufacture of the rug stretcher it is essenital that thestretcher itself embody a minimum amount of metal at the points where asoft wood. p

One particular feature of the invention is the provision of a novelslide and adjusting screw arrangement which enables me to control'thestretching of the rug very accurately. There is no fixed limit to whichthe stretching must be carried and therefore dictates of safety may atall times govern the extent to which forcer is applied to the rug. f

The features and advantages of the invention will appear more fullyfromthe following description, reference being had to theaccompanyingdrawings wherein a preferred 'form of the invention isshown. It` should be understood however that the drawings anddescription are illustrative only and are not to lbe taken as limitingthe invention except insofar as it is limited by the claims.

In the drawings:- e ,y

Fig. 1 is a plan view of my rug stretcher;

Fig. 2 is a view in side elevation of the rug stretcher; I

Fig. 3 is a. sectional View taken on the line 3-*3 of Fig. 1 showing theadjustable rug attaching bar which is capable of being positioned in aplurality of positions with respect to the main frame, depending uponthe size of the rug to be stretched; e l

Fig. 4 is an enlarged* fragmentary sectional view taken on the line 4 -4o f Fig. 1;

it is apt to be engaged by the workman, since the metal becomes too hotin the drying oven and it is liable to burn the operator. I find thatfor best operation and in order to give adequate strength the main frameof the stretcher, in-

Fig. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken on the line 51-'5of Fig. 1,;

Fig. 6 is a sectional view taken on the vline 6-6 of Fig. 1; l

Fig. 7 is a fragmentarysectional view taken on the line 'l--T of Fig. 1;and y Fig. 8 is a sectional view taken substantially on the line 8-,8 ofFig. 1. n I

Referring now in detail to the drawings, the present invention isembodied in a rug stretcher frame which comprises two side rails I0 andIl, two end rails l2 and I3, a plurality of cross ties I4 and I5 andcorner braces I6, Il', i8 andl I9. The frame just described is'made` ofwood and metal, the side rails l0 and Il and the end rails I2 and I3preferably being constructed of hard wood, such as birch, kof as light anature as may be employed with requisite strength. Normally I nd thatrails 2" x 4f' in cross section are suicient. The interior dimensions ofthe rectangular frame are for most purposes 9'4" x 12'31/3" so thatthere is ample space to accommodate a 9' x 12' rug. The side rails andend rails are connected at the corners'by angle irons 20, bolts beingused to fasten the rails together, and the end rails being lapped overthe ends of the side rails whereby to place the entire side rails undercompression in the stretching of the rug. The end rail I3 is providedwith rug attaching hooks 2| so that it may be used for attaching one endof the rug. The other end of the rug is attached to a movable slide 22.

VThe braces I6 and I1 may desirably be of metal with upturned ends 23and 24 which are bolted to ...the end rail I2.

The other ends of the braces are notched into the side rails III and IIand bolted by bolts that run vertically through the side railsimmediately adjacent to the cross bar I4. The braces I8 and I9 howeverane preferably constructed of hard wood, the same as the side rails Iand II. side rails I 0 and II and to the end rail I3. Intermediate theirends the braces I8 and I9 are cut down from the top to provide shallowportions I8a and I9a of approximately half the depth of the end railsfor a purpose which will presently appear.

The side rails I0 and Il are provided with longitudinally running slotswhich extend from a point closely adjacent the end rail I 2 downsubstantially to the cross bar I4. The adjustable frame 22 has spacedparallel guide rods 26 and 21 in the form of bolts extending through theslot 25 in the side rail I0. Similar bolts 28 and 29 extend through theslot 25 in the side rail II. These bolts are carried by'end pieces 36and 3| of the frame 22, these end pieces being fastened to a rugattaching bar -32 which has hooks 33 theneon similar to the hooks 2|.The end pieces 'and 3l are attached to the bar 32 by angle irons 34 andare braced at their free ends `by two diagonal braces 35 and 36extending from the free ends of the end pieces inwardly and diagonallytothe bar 32. These braces are bolted in place. The frame 22 is furtherbraced by a cross bar 31 between the ends of the end pieces 30 and 3|.The bar 32 desirably is constructed of the same hard wood as the siderails and end rails but the end pieces and the braces may be of asofter, lighter wood to decrease `the weight of the entire device.

It will be evident from the foregoing description that the frame 22 maybe moved longitudinally of the rails III and II and it will be guided inits movement by the bolts 26, 21, 28 and 29. In order to adjust theframe 22 I provide adjusting screws 38 and 39. These screws have collars40 and 4I welded thereon adjacent one end thereof and Athis end is freeof threads and polished to provide a good bearing. The collars also aresmooth to provide a bearing surface to engage wear plates 42 and 43mounted on the outer face of the end rail I2. The end rail is aperturedto receive the screws 38 and 39 and in order to removably attach thescrews to the end rail two washers 44 and 45 are mounted on the screwsand held in place by cotter pins 46 and 41. The screws 38 and 39preferably are provided with square threads of substantial size andthese screws'pass through suitable openings provided in the bar 32. Onthe side cf the bar 32 remote from the rail I2 there are providedAthreaded plates 48 and 49 which are suitably fastened by screws to thebar itself. nese plates serve as the means-for advancing the bar 32toward the rail I2 as the screws 38 and 39 are rotated. A squared head50 is provided on each of the screws 36 and 39 to receive a handle 5I bywhich they may be rotated. 'I'he handle is of course remov- These bracesare bolted tothe able so that it will not be in the way in the placingof the frame in an oven and so that it may be used ultimately forturning the screws 38 and being spaced so that when the cross bar ispositioned by the blocks 52 the notches 56 will interlock with thebraces I8 and I9 and when the cross bar 54 is positioned by the blocks53 the notches 51 will interlock with the braces I8 and I9. A supportingscrew 58 is threaded into a plate 59 that is attached to the end railI3. This screw has a washer 60 removably fastened on its free end by acotter pin 6I. The function of the screwA is of course to provide acenter brace for the bar 54 in either of the positions indicated. Thebar 54 may also be placed in two sockets 62 and 63 provided midway ofthe side rails I0 and II for the purpose of attaching small rugs and forstretching the rugs. The sockets 62 and 63 have plates 64 at the bottomto support the bar 54. In this position the bar 54 is not braced at thecenter, but owing to the fact that the force needed to stretch smallrugs is slight this center bracing is unnecessary.

It is believed that the foregoing description is suilicient to enableone skilled in the art to make and use the rug stretcher which is thesubject matter of this invention. It is also believed to be evident thatvarious modifications may be made within the scope of the invention asoutlined in the claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is:

l. A rug stretcher comprising a rectangular frame comprising side railsand end pieces, diagonally extending braces connecting each end piecewith the side rails, a cross bar adjacent to one end piece and havingrug attaching hooks thereon, stops on the side rails limiting themovement of said cross bar toward the other end piece, a centra1 bracefor said cross bar` comprising a threaded rod threadedly engaging theadjacent end piece and rotatably secured to the cross bar at the centerthereof, an adjustable frame adjacent to the other end piece, meanssupporting said adjustable frame for sliding movement lengthwise of saidside rails, said adjustable frame including a rug attaching barextending substantially from one side rail to the other side rail, saidbar having rug attaching hooks thereon, and means to draw saidadjustableframe toward the adjacent end rail, said last named means comprisingscrews journaled in the adjacent end piece and threaded members on theadjustable frame receiving said screws.

2. A rug stretcher comprising a rectangular frame comprising side railsand end pieces, diagonally extending braces connecting each end piecewith the side rails, a cross bar supported by the frame and extendingfrom one side rail to the other adjacent to one end piece and having rugattaching hooks thereon, stops on the side rails limiting the movementof said cross bar toward the other end piece, said stops being arrangedin pairs spaced at different distances from the first named end piecewhereby to adapt the stretcher to different lengths of rugs, anadjustable frame adjacent to the other end piece, means supporting saidadjustable frame for sliding movement lengthwise of said side rails,said adjustable frame including a rug attaching barl extendingsubstantially from one side rail to the other side rail, end framepieces extending from the rug attaching bar parallel to the side railsand rigidly joined to the rug attaching bar, said supporting meanscomprising slots and bolts interconnecting the side rails and the endpieces of said adjustable frame whereby to prevent tipping of theadjustable frame relatively to the side rails, said bar having rugattaching hooks thereon, and means to draw said adjustable frame towardthe adjacent end rail, said last named means comprising screws journaledin the adjacent end piece and threaded members on the adjustable framereceiving said screws. g

3. A rug stretcher comprising a rectangular frame comprising side railsand end pieces, one of said end pieces having rug attaching hooksthereon, an adjustable frame adjacent to the other end piece, meanssupporting said adjustable frame for sliding movement lengthwise o fsaid side rails, said adjustable frame including a rug attaching barextending substantially from one side rail to the other side rail, endframe pieces extending from the rug attaching bar parallel to the siderails and rigidly joined to the rug attaching bar, said supporting meanscomprising members on the said end pieces extending into slots in theside rails and preventing tipping of the adjustable frame relatively tothe side rails, said bar having rug attaching hooks thereon, and meansto draw said adjustable frame toward the adjacent end rail, said lastlnamed means comprising screws journaled in the adjacent end piece andthreaded members on the adjustable frame receiving said screws.

4. A rug stretcher comprising a rectangular frame comprising side railsand end pieces, diagonally extending braces connecting each end piecewith the side rails, a cross bar adjacent to one end piece and havingrug attaching hooks thereon, stops on the side rails limiting themovement of said cross bar toward the other end piece, said cross barbeing removably supported on the diagonal braces connecting the adjacentend piece with the side rails, an adjustable frame adjacent to the otherend piece, means supporting said adjustable frame for sliding movementlengthwise of said side rails, said adjustable frame including a rugattaching'bar extending substantially from one side rail to the otherside rail, said bar having rug attaching hooks thereon, and means todraw said adjustable frame toward the adjacent end rail, said last namedmeans comprising screws journaled in the adjacent end piece and threadedmembers on the adjustable frame receiving said screws.

5. A rug stretcher comprising a rectangular frame made up of side railsand end pieces, means at each end of said frame for securing an edge ofa rug, the means at one end comprising an adjustable frame, meansslidably supporting the adjustable frame on the side rails for freemovement lengthwise of the rails, said adjustable frame includingmembers extending lengthwise of the side rails and adjacent thereto andconnected to said side rails by said mounting means to prevent tippingof the adjustable frame, and individually operable adjusting screwsconnecting the adjustable frame and the adjacent end piece and spacedfrom the side rails and from each other to draw the adjustable -frametoward the end piece, the rug securing means at the other end comprisinga bar, braces between the side rails and the end pieces supporting thebar, and spaced pairs of stops on the side rail for adjustablypositioning said bar.

CHARLES A. BOUSHEILE.

